Arlene Foster

Arlene Foster (3 July 1970-) was First Minister of Northern Ireland from 11 January 2016 to 9 January 2017 with Martin McGuinness, succeeding Peter Robinson.

Biography
Arlene Foster was born in Dernawilt, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland on 3 July 1970 to a family of Ulster Scots, the daughter of a Royal Ulster Constabulary policeman. Foster studied at Queen's University in Belfast before joining the Ulster Unionist Party, and she was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2003. She was a member of a right-wing cabal within the UUP, and she defected to the Democratic Unionist Party in 2004 due to her opposition to David Trimble. She served as Minister of Trade, Enterprise, and Investment under First Minister Peter Robinson from 2008 to 2015, when she replaced Robinson as DUP leader; in 2016, she became First Minister. In December 2016, it was revealed that she overspent £400,000,000 on her Renewable Heat Incentive program, and she personally campaigned for the resumption of the campaign, even after her colleagues warned of the overspending. On 9 January 2017, she was forced to step down as First Minister when Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness resigned in protest over her incentive scandal; according to the power sharing deal established by the Good Friday Agreement, a First Minister could not exist without a deputy from the opposing party. A snap election was called, and her party narrowly maintained control of the government with 29.2% of the upper house, while Sinn Fein held 24%.